New law thwarts Westboro Baptist Church funeral protests

President Obama has signed a law prohibiting protests during or near military funerals.

The Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring For Camp Lejuene Families Act of 2012 also benefits military personnel and their families with improved healthcare, housing, education, and memorial services.

“We have a moral sacred duty to our men and women in uniform,” said Obama at the bill signing, according to a pool report. “The graves of our veterans are hallowed grounds.”

Protests are now limited to within 300 feet of a military funeral and for two hours before and after such a service.

The law is a none-too-subtle swipe at Westboro Baptist Church, a fringe “church” based in Topeka, Kan., and certified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church has made a practice of picketing military funerals with signs that comes close to bordering on hate speech. Westboro believes that God is killing American soldiers to punish the American people for increasingly embracing LGBT equality. The group’s brightly colored signs bear messages like “Thank God for dead soldiers,” “Semper Fag” and the ubiquitous “God Hates Fags,” which also functions as the group’s Web domain.